Antonia Bance (Tipton and Wednesbury) (Lab)
The Secretary of State for Defence (John Healey)
I know the whole House is united in condemning the dreadful attacks on the LNER train from Doncaster to London over the weekend, and our thoughts are with the victims, their families and their friends. This is also the period in which we mark remembrance. Thank you, Mr Speaker, for your ceremony in opening the garden of remembrance for constituencies this morning. We will wear our poppies with pride, and we will remember them.
In September, we published our Government’s new defence industrial strategy, backed by nearly £800 million in funding. We are making defence an engine for driving economic growth. We are backing British jobs, backing British industry and backing British innovation.
Sarah Russell
I recently visited Avocet, an innovative manufacturing company based in Holmes Chapel in my constituency. It is looking to grow its business by diversifying into supplying components and materials for drone battery production. However, it has expressed to me the potential for improved support and guidance from the Government in order to break into and thrive in this competitive international market. What steps is the Department taking to support British manufacturing businesses such as Avocet? Does he agree that helping these organisations will unlock vital opportunities for economic growth?
John Healey
I do indeed, and my hon. Friend is right. Firms such as that in her constituency hold the future of our security and our economic growth. That is why we have set up UK Defence Innovation and ringfenced it with at least £400 million in the Budget this year, with fresh freedoms. We have also doubled to £4 billion the amount of money that we will invest in British drones and autonomy over this Parliament.
Gurinder Singh Josan
A key ingredient in strengthening the industrial base is the innovation that our companies bring to the table. A&M EDM Ltd in my constituency is a specialist engineering company working with aerospace, automotive, Formula 1 and other industries. When I visited recently, it was testing a drone engine that it had designed and built, with most parts being produced in house. What routes are available to companies such as A&M EDM Ltd to bring that innovation, specialist engineering capacity, and research and development ability to the defence industrial supply chain?
John Healey
UK Defence Innovation has been set up to transform defence’s innovation system. One of its priorities is to foster collaboration with small and medium-sized firms in fields beyond defence, just like A&M EDM Ltd in my hon. Friend’s constituency. I have set out my determination to see Britain become the best place to start, grow and invest in new defence companies.
Antonia Bance
It is always good to follow another Member for the Black Country. I was recently very pleased to meet with Babcock International, which is based in Walsall, just over the M6 from my constituency, where it makes armoured cars. Can the Secretary of State comment on future opportunities for defence manufacturing in the Black Country and the wider west midlands?
John Healey
The west midlands has a very proud tradition of being at the heart of British invention and engineering, and it has huge potential for the future of defence engineering and invention. In the last year, the Ministry of Defence has spent £1.7 billion directly into the region, which is the highest level for the last 10 years. The Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry, my hon. Friend the Member for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport (Luke Pollard), met with the Mayor of the West Midlands just last week to discuss what other opportunities there may be for firms such as that and areas such as that of my hon. Friend the Member for Tipton and Wednesbury (Antonia Bance) in the west midlands.
Sir Iain Duncan Smith (Chingford and Woodford Green) (Con)
As the Secretary of State knows, I have brought a company over from Ukraine to show us what it can do with drones. Us getting hold of that technology from Ukraine helps us to supply Ukraine, as well as ourselves. However, the key issue I want to ask about is that of rare earth minerals. They are normally discussed in a business context, but they are critical to the defence of the United Kingdom, and having a supply here in this country, directly owned by us, must surely be a critical issue. Has the Secretary of State looked at this issue, talked to his colleagues in Government and said, “We need a supply that we produce in our own country and use here”?
John Healey
The short answer is yes. The slightly longer answer is that that we are doing so with close allies. We are also doing so with Ukraine. The right hon. Gentleman has been one of the voices in this House that has pushed us to do more with Ukrainian industry, and I know he will welcome our groundbreaking agreement with Ukraine, through which it will share for the first time with another country its intellectual property for the critical interceptor drone called Octopus. We will develop that further, manufacture those drones at scale within weeks and months, and return thousands to Ukraine to help its fight against Putin.
Dave Doogan (Angus and Perthshire Glens) (SNP)
The Ministry of Defence spent £1.2 billion with SMEs in 2024-25. Sadly, though, only 2.5% of that spending went to SMEs in Scotland, which report extreme difficulty in accessing those MOD contracts. This is an inevitable consequence of the MOD spending more in one region of England than it spends in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland put together. Does the Secretary of State agree that this is an undesirable outcome, and what steps will he take to increase SME expenditure by the MOD in Scotland to at least Scotland’s per capita share, which is what it contributes to the cost of defence?
John Healey
The first useful step, of course, would be for the Scottish nationalist Government to lift their bar on any support for defence and associated firms. One of the biggest problems for SMEs in the defence field in Scotland is that they cannot get any support from their own Government, despite the big contribution that those SMEs make to jobs, opportunities and security, not just for Scotland and the UK.
Dame Caroline Dinenage (Gosport) (Con)
As the Secretary of State said, the defence industrial strategy promises to boost British export success, British businesses and British jobs. As such, I am sure he is as excited as I am about the Aeralis bid to replace the Red Arrow Hawk aircraft, which would deliver around 600 skilled jobs at StandardAero in my constituency. Will he ensure that there is an early decision on the replacement of the Hawk aircraft, and that that decision fully reflects the opportunity that exists to create high-value jobs, drive exports, strengthen British sovereign capability, and enable the United Kingdom to design and build its own aircraft?
John Healey
The hon. Lady is absolutely right. Like her, I am very excited about the defence industrial strategy, and she is right to urge me to ensure we take an early decision about the replacement of the Hawk trainer. We will, because that is a long-overdue decision that should have been taken years ago by the previous Administration and the previous Defence Procurement Minister.
David Reed (Exmouth and Exeter East) (Con)
I associate Conservative Members with the Secretary of State’s remarks about the appalling attack in Huntingdon over the weekend.
We all know that the Government cannot deliver a strong defence industrial base without seriously boosting defence spending, yet multiple media outlets have very recently reported that the Secretary of State’s Department is asking the armed forces to make cuts of £2.6 billion this financial year. Very simply, can he tell us what will be cut to find the money?
John Healey
Quite simply, we have boosted defence investment. We have done so by a record amount since the end of the cold war, and three years earlier than the Conservatives’ unfunded plans proposed. Since the election, we have signed over 1,000 major contracts, 84% of them with British firms. We have brought £1.7 billion of foreign direct investment into defence, and we have won major export deals that the Conservatives never managed. On Monday, the Prime Minister and I signed an £8 billion deal with Turkey to buy 20 British Typhoons, which will help secure 20,000 jobs in the wider supply chain for the years to come. I would like to hear Conservative Members welcome that.
Mr Connor Rand (Altrincham and Sale West) (Lab)
The Secretary of State for Defence (John Healey)
We are making the most significant commitment and change to armed forces housing in 50 years. Within six months of the election, we acted to end the worst-ever Tory privatisation. We brought 36,000 military homes back into public ownership, and now we are making a £9 billion investment over the next decade to bring those homes up to scratch. At the same time, we are supercharging the building of new housing on surplus defence land. These plans are set out in our new defence housing strategy, which we published today, and a copy of which I will place in the Library of the House.
Mr Rand
In the week of Remembrance Sunday, it is important to restate that supporting our armed forces and their families is something we should be committed to every day. Over the past decade, two thirds of armed forces service family accommodation was allowed to fall into such disrepair that it was deemed not fit for purpose by the Defence Committee. How will our consumer charter for armed forces families ensure that we do provide homes fit for heroes?
John Healey
My hon. Friend is right to recognise remembrance as a time when we recognise not just the service of those in the past, but those who serve today. We make demands on them that none of us would have to meet. We ask them to deploy at a week’s notice to the other side of the world, and we ask them to move with their families every few years around the UK. The very last thing they should worry about is whether their wives, husbands, partners or kids are living in cold, damp and leaky homes. We are ending what my hon. Friend says is the Tory scandal of unfit forces housing, and we are getting Britain building the homes that we need on surplus defence land—[Interruption.]
Mr Speaker
Order. The shadow Secretary of State will want to catch my eye for his own questions. He should not use up all his ammunition just yet.
Mr Lee Dillon (Newbury) (LD)
I welcome the £9 billion investment in military housing, but can the Secretary of State reassure Members, those serving and their families that responsive repairs will not be put on hold in the hope of a new bathroom, kitchen or heating system?
John Healey
The introduction earlier this year of a new consumer standard has not just raised the required standard of those repairs, but the response when they are needed. Over the first year of this Government, we have seen the number of complaints about forces housing more than halve from the high under the previous Government. There will always be complaints; there will always be problems. We cannot fix these problems overnight, but I am determined that we will fix them. I am determined for this to be a nation where we say proudly that we provide homes fit for our heroes.
Sonia Kumar (Dudley) (Lab)
The Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry (Luke Pollard)
The role of west midlands SMEs in support of our armed forces is vital for our national security. The Ministry of Defence has just published our regional breakdown of defence spending in the west midlands, where we spend £1.7 billion. That is the highest on record, supporting 7,900 jobs, but it is not enough. We will spend an additional £2.5 billion extra with SMEs by 2028, helping to reinforce that defence can be an engine for growth.
Sonia Kumar
In Dudley, we have the Pensnett estate, one of the largest industrial estates in Europe. It is home to nearly 200 businesses, including a variety of SMEs, ranging from plumbing to steelworks. What steps is my right hon. Friend taking to ensure that SMEs in Dudley have the time and the space to bid for contracts? Will the Minister agree to hold a roundtable on defence on the Pensnett estate?
Luke Pollard
I am grateful for the time that my hon. Friend spent talking to me about SME potential in Dudley and across the west midlands last week. There is a huge opportunity to direct more of the increasing defence budget at British firms, and in particular SMEs. There is huge potential with the skills base in the west midlands. I would be happy to take my hon. Friend up on her offer of visiting Dudley and getting those businesses more involved in the defence supply chain.
Sir Gavin Williamson (Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge) (Con)
The Minister has heard what an amazing set of mid-sized and large businesses we have in the west midlands supporting defence, but we also have some amazing research universities. What more is the MOD looking at doing to work more closely with our universities, getting them geared towards supporting our move to rearming this country?
Luke Pollard
I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for raising the important role that universities play. In the defence industrial strategy, published a few months ago, we set out our ambition to create a defence universities alliance, bringing together the very best cutting-edge research that is being done in our universities. We are working with Universities UK to put that together, and there will be further announcements in short order, but I hope that the universities on the right hon. Gentleman’s patch will participate so that we can grow our economy and keep our nation safe.
Sadik Al-Hassan (North Somerset) (Lab)
Noah Law (St Austell and Newquay) (Lab)
The Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry (Luke Pollard)
As we move towards warfighting readiness, the Government are investing more of our rising defence budget in new technologies and innovation, and the need for more innovative solutions to address emerging challenges is paramount in these darker and more dangerous times. On 1 July we launched UK Defence Innovation, a £400 million fund, and we will spend 10% of the equipment budget on innovative technologies that will deliver for defence.
Sadik Al-Hassan
What pathways and training programmes are Ministers establishing to ensure that young people, such as those in my constituency, can develop the specialist skills that they need in order to become the defence innovators of the future? Is the Minister working with local colleges, universities and defence industry employers to create hubs of apprenticeships and career opportunities?
Luke Pollard
As a fellow south-west MP, I know just how important it is for us to invest in defence skills in the south-west and across the United Kingdom. The defence industrial strategy includes the £182 million package that we will deliver via defence technical excellence colleges with our colleagues in the Department for Education, but we need to go further, encouraging all our defence businesses—big and small—to invest in skills so that we have the workforce of the future, able to deliver those cutting-edge technologies. I shall be happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss what more we can do in Somerset.
Noah Law
While I greatly welcome the focus on innovation, cyber-warfare remains one of the areas in which the lines of responsibility may at least appear to be less clear. Given the threats that are proliferating—both abroad, for instance from Russia and the Sahel, and closer to home, even in many of our own in-trays—will the Minister specify where that responsibility for cyber-warfare really lies?
Luke Pollard
Keeping our nation safe in the air, on land and at sea requires cyber and space capabilities. Defence was attacked 90,000 times in the cyber domain, which amounts to roughly 250 attacks a day. That is why we are investing not just in the National Cyber Force but in the defence cyber and electromagnetic force that we are setting up, working with our colleagues in the private sector, to enhance the ability of defence not only to repel attacks on the defence infrastructure but to harden UK resilience in the private and public sectors. There is more work between the MOD and the Cabinet Office in that regard, but we need everyone to step up to defend our country in the cyber space, and we can all do something by simply updating our operating systems, which will make everyone who does so safer and more resilient.
Ben Obese-Jecty (Huntingdon) (Con)
May I first associate myself with the Secretary of State’s remarks about the attack on the train at the weekend?
Last week the Ministry of Defence announced the launch of Project Fairfax, which will see a defence technology cluster established alongside RAF Wyton in my constituency. I thank the Minister for his support in bringing the project forward; it has been warmly received not only by industry but, crucially, by my constituents, who are excited about the opportunity presented by specialist defence careers and increasing regional growth that will be delivered best via option E of local government reform. What steps could he take in giving Huntingdonshire the opportunity to create a wider defence ecosystem to meet the eligibility criteria for consideration for funding from the Defence and Security Accelerator?
Luke Pollard
I thank the hon. Gentleman for the tone in which he spoke to the nation about the attack that took place in his constituency. He should feel very proud of the first responders from his area who responded to that attack. As for the opportunities that exist in his constituency, I was very pleased to meet him and my hon. Friend the Member for North West Cambridgeshire (Sam Carling) to look into how, on a cross-party basis, we can seize a real opportunity at RAF Wyton, supporting activities with local government in order to do so. The defence industrial strategy sets out the framework for delivering that opportunity through local and national Government working together with our armed forces and the private sector, as well as academia. We will continue those discussions, but the opportunity at RAF Wyton is real, and I am happy to be helping the hon. Gentleman to deliver it.
Sir Bernard Jenkin (Harwich and North Essex) (Con)
Can the Minister describe what he is doing within his own Department so that his own officials actually reward, recognise and engage with innovation? The acquisitions system in the MOD is notoriously bureaucratic, incredibly risk-averse and makes it impossible for small companies, in particular, to engage with innovative projects in the Department. What is he doing to get a wholesale transformation of the culture within his Department? Otherwise, all this money will just be wasted.
Luke Pollard
I agree with the hon. Gentleman’s critique of the system that we inherited from the previous Government, which frankly was not good enough. We do need to see procurement contracting times reduced, which is why in the defence industrial strategy we set out our ambition to reduce six-year procurements to two years, two-year procurements to one year, and one-year procurements to six months. We are using innovative technologies, such as artificial intelligence, to help speed up that transition, and we are opening our office of small business growth at the start of next year, which will enable more SMEs to access defence contracts directly.
Andrew Cooper (Mid Cheshire) (Lab)
Paul Davies (Colne Valley) (Lab)
The Secretary of State for Defence (John Healey)
The UK is playing a leading role in stepping up support for Ukraine. This year we are spending the highest ever level on military aid to Ukraine through the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, which I chaired last month. In this year alone we have managed to get £50 billion-worth of pledges of support for Ukraine from the 50-nation-strong group. Tomorrow I will join Defence Ministers in the Joint Expeditionary Force coalition in Norway, where we will confirm a new partnership with Ukraine to strengthen our support further.
Andrew Cooper
I strongly welcome the Defence Secretary’s continued leadership on Ukraine. I visited Estonia in early September, just prior to the incident in which three MiG-31 Russian fighter jets entered Estonian airspace and stayed for 12 minutes, in a further dangerous escalation of tensions in the region. Even before that incident, the sense I got from the Estonian politicians I met was that they were very much on the frontline, and there was deep concern that, if Russia succeeds in Ukraine, they will be next. What assurances can the Defence Secretary give that contingency plans are in place to support our NATO allies in the face of continued Russian aggression?
John Healey
I commend my hon. Friend, and Members on both sides of the House who have visited Ukraine. That can give an important sense of support and confidence to those fighting in Ukraine. He is right; Putin’s incursions into NATO airspace are reckless and dangerous, and serve only to strengthen the unity of NATO. NATO responded swiftly to those incursions, and I recently extended the UK’s Typhoon contribution to that Eastern Sentry exercise until the end of the year. The UK remains the framework nation for the forward land forces in Estonia—we have almost 10,000 UK troops in Estonia. That strengthens NATO’s deterrence, which is something I will be discussing with JEF Defence Ministers this week in Norway.
Paul Davies
I welcome the commitments made by the coalition of the willing on further military support for the protection of Ukraine’s airspace. However, Ukraine continues to endure daily aerial attacks targeted at civil infrastructure, as Russia seeks to use the approaching winter as a tool of torment. Can the Minister clarify what specific air defence capabilities have been pledged to safeguard Ukraine’s skies and protect critical infrastructure?
John Healey
My hon. Friend is right; Putin’s aerial bombardment of Ukraine is cynical, illegal and targeted at civilians. That is why we have stepped up our efforts to reinforce Ukraine’s air defences. This autumn we have delivered more than 200,000 rounds of anti-aircraft ammunition and hundreds of air-to-air missiles. In September we announced a first-of-its-kind joint programme for the new interceptor drone, the Octopus, which will be produced in the UK and manufactured at scale. We aim to deliver thousands a month back into Ukraine to help defend its skies, defend its cities, and defend its energy infrastructure.
Sir Julian Lewis (New Forest East) (Con)
As we build up towards Remembrance Sunday, does the Secretary of State agree that it is appropriate for us to remember the circumstances in which two world wars began, when democracies were relatively weak in the face of armed autocracies? Therefore, does he agree that the help we give to Ukraine is the best possible guarantee that aggressors will not be emboldened to attack other countries as well?
John Healey
I do indeed. If big countries believe that they can redraw international boundaries by force and get away with it, then no democracy and no state is safe. I agree with the right hon. Gentleman that a secure, sovereign Ukraine is central to Europe’s security in future.
Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
I thank the Secretary of State for his answers. Reports in the newspapers indicate that 150,000 new Russian soldiers are being prepared for an onslaught in eastern Ukraine. I do not doubt for one second that the Secretary of State, the Labour Government and this Parliament are committed to doing something, but reports seem to indicate that other countries are slowing down on what they give. Has he been able to encourage other countries to ensure that they replicate what we give?
John Healey
The answer is yes, through the Ukraine Defence Contact Group—50 nations that have committed to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes. Together, we have secured £50 billion of pledges of military aid to Ukraine in this year alone, and I am proud of the way that the UK has stepped in, alongside Germany, to lead that group. It is part of what we are doing, with others, to step up support for Ukraine, which will be needed even more in the months to come.
Nick Timothy (West Suffolk) (Con)
Paul Holmes (Hamble Valley) (Con)
The Minister for the Armed Forces (Al Carns)
The very reason that I left the military was because the lessons from Ukraine, particularly around uncrewed systems, were not being learned within our military. The drone architecture was exceptionally limited, despite our watching a revolution in the character of conflict for about two years. Since then, the strategic defence review has stepped in, with £4 billion for autonomous systems and a new defence uncrewed systems centre. Training, tactics, procedures, doctrine and concepts are all changing to inculcate uncrewed systems.
Nick Timothy
I thank the Minister for his answer. The biggest drone manufacturer in Ukraine, Ukrspecsystems, is investing £200 million in Britain, opening a factory in Mildenhall in the west of my county and creating 500 jobs directly and through the supply chain. However, like all manufacturers, it is facing rising energy costs and a tax bill that is likely to go up. If the Minister wants greater drone capacity in Britain, what conversations is he having with his colleagues in the Energy Department and the Business Department to ensure that the whole Government are pulling in the same direction?
Al Carns
The uncrewed centre of excellence is trying to pull all of Government together to make the system easier to deal with for small and medium-sized enterprises. I pay tribute to Ukrspecsystems, which has been providing drones to Ukraine for the past three years. They have been used to very high effect in that country.
Paul Holmes
I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests.
The Minister may be aware of Domo Tactical Communications, a drone manufacturer in my constituency that I have raised in written questions before. Will he uphold the visit that was due to take place by his predecessor before the reshuffle? What proportion of drones purchased for UK armed forces are procured from UK-based drone manufacturers, and what can be done to increase that proportion?
Al Carns
I have been reassured that the Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry will visit the hon. Gentleman’s constituency to have a look at the factory. From my perspective, we have increased our production of drones for Ukraine—up to 100,000 this year alone—and we are increasing the procurement of drones into the British military by thousands.
Anna Dixon (Shipley) (Lab)
I am very proud that the Government have supported Ukraine through the provision of drones. I recently visited Radio Design, a company in Saltaire in my constituency that is at the cutting edge of radio frequency, which is essential for fighting the rapidly developing threat from drones. Can the Minister assure me that procurement processes are agile enough to allow innovative smaller businesses with specialist technologies in radio frequency, such as Radio Design, to access new defence contracts in order to help us deliver on the strategic defence review?
Al Carns
It is not lost on anyone in the House that the first 100 pages of the strategic defence review are all about industry, about ensuring that SMEs can dock into the defence enterprise far more effectively, and about ensuring that we start procuring weapons and systems—and not only for our defence, but for our overseas partners. My hon. Friend will also be aware that we procured 10,000 drones in 2024. The figure has now gone up to 100,000, which are going to Ukraine to support our ally in its fight against Russia.
Peter Prinsley (Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket) (Lab)
We have all witnessed the devastating effect of mass drone attacks, and MPs could see for themselves the sinister looking Iranian Russian drone that was here in Parliament only last week. What measures is the Ministry taking to develop a strategy in this country to defend ourselves from such a mass drone attack?
Al Carns
I recall that a quadcopter landed on the deck of HMS Queen Elizabeth when she set sail several years ago, and since then investment in taking out uncrewed air systems has been relatively limited. However, in the strategic defence review we have pledged £1 billion to integrated air defence here in the UK, and my hon. Friend will see many procurements moving forward in the defence investment plan.
James Cartlidge (South Suffolk) (Con)
According to their own written answer, the Government ordered only three drones for the British armed forces in their first financial year. At June’s Defence oral questions, I suggested that Labour could find the money to buy drones at the scale we need by scrapping the crazy Chagos deal. They rejected my proposal then, but given that the Secretary of State has just failed to deny £2.6 billion of cuts at the MOD this year, is it not even more urgent that they scrap their crazy £35 billion surrender and spend every penny on the uncrewed revolution for our own armed forces?
Al Carns
The irony! The Conservatives started the deal and they processed the deal. When Labour came into government, we finished it and we put it into place, supported by our allies—both the US and multiple others. Not only did we finish that deal, but we have started and finished an India deal, a US deal, a Europe deal, a Typhoon deal, a Norway deal and a Germany deal.
Laurence Turner (Birmingham Northfield) (Lab)
Sally Jameson (Doncaster Central) (Lab/Co-op)
The Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry (Luke Pollard)
Defence is an engine for growth. The defence industrial strategy, which we published in September, sets out how we will reform procurement, cut contracting times, spend more of our rising defence budget with British companies, invest in frontier technologies and skills, crowd in private capital and support regional development.
Laurence Turner
I draw attention to my declaration in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests in respect of the GMB, a defence manufacturing trade union.
Defence is an engine for growth, but skill shortages remain. What steps are being taken to increase the number of high-quality apprentices? If I may, Mr Speaker, can I also ask the Minister to join me in congratulating my constituent Andy De Comyn, whose design has just been chosen for the proposed national memorial to all members of the parliamentary community who have fallen in conflict?
Luke Pollard
I join my hon. Friend in thanking his constituent for his creativity and work.
Defence is one of the largest apprenticeship employers in the country, with over 24,000 apprentices. The Navy is No. 2 and the RAF is No. 4, and I am proud that the Army has been named the No. 1 apprenticeship employer. We are doing even more than that with £182 million going into skills, and we are working with our trade union colleagues—from both the GMB, of which I am proud to be a member, and Unite—alongside industries big and small, as part of the Defence Industrial Joint Council, so we can motor our economic development and create more jobs in defence.
Sally Jameson
How can the defence sector make better use of underutilised MOD land and assets to contribute to innovative models of business such as the community energy projects that, alongside initiatives such as the South Yorkshire growth deal, can contribute to local SMEs and energy security?
Luke Pollard
As a very proud Labour and Co-operative MP, I know just how important it is to use community energy to create good renewable energy and cut energy bills. I would be very happy to speak to my hon. Friend about that. We are looking at the 1% of Britain that we own as a Department to see how we can not only deliver defence outputs and build more houses—with 100,000 houses identified in the defence housing strategy—but support environmental output and greater industrial opportunities for the private sector. I am very happy to meet her to discuss that further.
Rebecca Smith (South West Devon) (Con)
The Minister rightly promotes our world-class maritime sector in the south-west, where considerable private investment is being made, including a new resilience factory opening in my constituency next week. Such innovative young companies live or die on the pace of Government contracting, but we continue to wait for the latest defence investment plan. How will the Minister reassure the new tech companies in my constituency that the pace of their private investments is matched by the urgency of MOD contracting to ensure that economic growth through defence becomes a reality?
Luke Pollard
I thank my constituency neighbour for raising issues involving the south-west. I am actually opening that factory in the hon. Member’s constituency next week, and I look forward to seeing her there to make the case further for it. The defence investment plan, which will be published later this year, will set out what we are spending our money on. Let us be very clear: we are delivering the strategic defence review, and we are piling more energy and more of the money that we have been allocated from the Treasury into British businesses. I want to see more SMEs benefit from that, and in that respect we are delivering the defence industrial strategy at pace, but I am very happy to discuss that further with her.
Sarah Dyke (Glastonbury and Somerton) (LD)
The south-west, as the Minister has already confirmed, is home to major military assets. The defence sector supports over 60,000 jobs in the region, including many in Glastonbury and Somerton. The area is uniquely positioned to drive forward the Government’s industrial strategy ambitions. What action is the Minister taking to ensure that the defence industry is an engine of economic growth in Somerset?
Luke Pollard
I thank the hon. Lady for raising the opportunities in the south-west. There is a huge skilled workforce in the south-west region and a huge amount of economic activity already present, but we want there to be even more. That is why we are working with local government, and with regional government where it exists, across the south-west, as well as our colleagues in the private sector, to look at how we can boost skills and direct more of the rising defence budget at British companies in the south-west and in every other region and nation of the country, so we can deliver for defence and create more jobs.
Steff Aquarone (North Norfolk) (LD)
The Minister for the Armed Forces (Al Carns)
The UK and its allies must be ready to deal with the most demanding of circumstances, deterring and preventing a full-scale war by being combat-ready. I can assure the hon. Member that low-flying training plays an indispensable role in achieving and maintaining our war fighting capability, and that it is spread throughout the whole of the UK to help minimise disturbance to the public.
Steff Aquarone
Dozens of my constituents have contacted me to express their frustration with the training patterns of both RAF and American fighter jets over North Norfolk’s towns and villages. It makes it hard to work, it traumatises pets, and in the case of one of my constituents it has left them with permanent hearing damage. They and I recognise the importance of training, but carrying out continuous manoeuvres over populated areas when we are so near to the North sea baffles them. Can the Minister assure me that he will review the training patterns in our area and take steps to reduce the impact on my residents?
Al Carns
I can assure the hon. Member that those increased training missions are to support an increased deployment across Europe, highlighting the issues, but I will meet the Minister to talk through those issues and see if we can make some slight changes.
Danny Beales (Uxbridge and South Ruislip) (Lab)
The Minister for Veterans and People (Louise Sandher-Jones)
As announced in the strategic defence review, we are working to deliver a 30% expansion of in-school and community-based cadet forces by 2030. The campaign is backed by £70 million of new investment and will increase our cadets by an estimated 40,000 across the UK, providing the opportunity for many more young people to enjoy the fantastic benefits of the cadet experience.
Danny Beales
I recently had the honour of visiting the RAF air cadets in Uxbridge, where I was shown at first hand the amazing experiences that the cadets offers to young people. As well as being a route into the armed forces, they learn new science, technology, engineering and maths subjects, travel the UK and get their Duke of Edinburgh award, and some also pick up a musical instrument for the first time. This is why it is vital that we expand the cadets through the 30 by 30 initiative. To enable that to take place, what consideration has been given to how we enable more people to volunteer to run cadet forces and to how they can access funding to expand their facilities?
Louise Sandher-Jones
I am delighted to hear about the fantastic opportunities given by the air cadets in my hon. Friend’s constituency. I can assure him that delivering the 30 by 30 expansion programme requires a detailed assessment of key foundational areas, including cadet growth, the adult volunteer proposition and the cadet estate. Planning is under way to ensure that the activities yield maximum gain and that the fantastic benefits of the cadet experience are available to more young people across the country.
Robin Swann (South Antrim) (UUP)
The Northern Ireland Universities Air Squadron is based in Aldergrove in my constituency. Can the Minister reassure me that any support for cadets will be expanded to every cadet and every base across the UK?
Louise Sandher-Jones
As a big proponent of the cadets, I can assure the hon. Gentleman that we will ensure that all the benefits of the cadets are available across the country.
Lee Anderson (Ashfield) (Reform)
The Minister for Veterans and People (Louise Sandher-Jones)
We have been very clear in the strategic defence review that we are committed to growing the Army. Under this Government, we have driven improvements to the recruiting process, stripping out outdated medical policies, reducing the time it takes to receive candidate medical records and widening cross-Government data sharing. The Army is now sending conditional offers of employment within 10 days and provisional training start dates to eligible candidates within 30 days. Those measures, alongside targeted recruiting and a restructuring of the Army’s recruiting organisation, are delivering results. Year on year, the Army’s soldier intake numbers are up by 13% and officer numbers are up by 10%.
Lee Anderson
I share the Minister’s concerns over Army recruitment. Could she please explain to me why a young person would even consider a job in the armed forces if they may get a knock on the door in 50 years’ time to be charged with an offence when they were simply doing their duty?
Louise Sandher-Jones
I would like to reassure the hon. Gentleman that serving in the armed forces is a fantastic career for any young person. The experiences and skills that one can gain from a career in the armed forces are second to none; I for one am deeply grateful for all the opportunities I had when I served, and I would urge all young people to consider such a career. I assure the hon. Gentleman that this Government are committed to renewing the contract with those who serve. As a veteran, I can assure him that our No. 1 priority is to defend and protect those who serve this nation.
Chris Vince (Harlow) (Lab/Co-op)
I take this opportunity to thank you, Mr Speaker, for the remembrance service we had this morning. It was hugely emotional, and made me think of those from my constituency who gave their lives for our freedom 80 years ago. What will my hon. and gallant Friend the Minister do to continue to champion the servicemen and women who protect this country? We should celebrate all of them, no matter their ethnicity, religion or nationality.
Louise Sandher-Jones
My hon. Friend is right that we must celebrate everybody who contributes to our armed forces, no matter their gender or other protected characteristics. The commitment of this Government to protecting and serving those who serve this nation is total.
Mr Mark Francois (Rayleigh and Wickford) (Con)
As General Lord Dannatt, the former Chief of the General Staff, said at the weekend,
“if potential recruits to our Armed Forces do not believe that their government will stand by them when performing their duties in a lawful manner, why risk joining at all?”
He was speaking about Labour’s new Northern Ireland Troubles Bill, which could see Northern Ireland veterans, without whom there would never have been a Good Friday agreement in the first place, in the dock again by next year. The Minister called opponents of this “naive”. What is her response to the former head of the British Army and the brave soldiers he led—were they all naive, too?
Louise Sandher-Jones
Seeing as the right hon. Gentleman is attacking me for something I did not say, I can only assume that he cannot attack me—
Louise Sandher-Jones
He is very welcome to check Hansard, where he will see that I was very specifically referring to people spreading misinformation. He will be able to see it there in black and white in Hansard.
Louise Sandher-Jones
It is in Hansard, absolutely—I urge the right hon. Gentleman to reread it to see the full quote.
This Government are committed to protecting those who serve. Our first and foremost priority is to protect and ensure the welfare of those who have served, just as we have done for many people who have served in our armed forces across multiple conflicts. I can only say again that the commitment of this Government to our veterans is total.
Mr Francois
The former Labour Security Minister Lord West said recently that we “shouldn’t be doing” this. Lord Glasman, the founder of Blue Labour, said:
“We must reverse it as soon as possible.”
The hon. Member for Blackley and Middleton South (Graham Stringer) said that
“to continue this against one side makes no sense.”
With a Labour rebellion clearly brewing, and given that many Northern Ireland veterans were initially recruited from red wall seats, why are Labour Ministers insisting on driving their Back Benchers into the Division Lobby just to do Sinn Féin and their old comrades in the IRA a favour?
Louise Sandher-Jones
I urge the right hon. Gentleman to remember the really serious issues that are at stake here. The priorities of this Government, as we have shown repeatedly, are to do right by the families of more than 200 British service personnel who were murdered in Northern Ireland and to ensure that we have protections and appropriate measures in place to defend our veterans; we have five protections in law and a sixth that we have control over ourselves. I can assure the right hon. Gentleman again that the Government’s commitment to veterans is total.
Dr Al Pinkerton (Surrey Heath) (LD)
May I begin by associating myself and my party with the sentiments reflected by the Secretary of State about the terrible events in Huntingdon at the weekend?
The Secretary of State’s ambition to reverse the outflows from our armed forces is absolutely right, particularly considering the damage the last Government did to our military, but it is far from clear that the Government are doing enough to achieve the necessary changes. There continue to be more service personnel leaving the Army year on year than are joining. In order to strengthen our defence, we need to give more people better incentives to join the armed forces. Will the Minister consider accelerating recruitment properly and tackling outflow rates by backing Liberal Democrat proposals for a £10,000 signing bonus to attract new recruits?
Louise Sandher-Jones
In addition to the measures I have outlined to speed up recruitment, we are looking at expanding novel ways of entry into the armed forces, such as direct entry in the cyber stream. We are hugely focused on retention, and this is a very personal mission for me, having left the forces in 2020 and knowing what measures might have helped retain me in service for longer. We are utterly dedicated to addressing the reasons that people give for leaving, not least with our multibillion-pound investment into fixing forces housing.
Charlotte Cane (Ely and East Cambridgeshire) (LD)
The Minister for Veterans and People (Louise Sandher-Jones)
As an Army veteran, and indeed a female Army veteran, this mission is deeply personal to me. More work must be done to improve service life for women in our armed forces. The two remaining recommendations from the Committee’s report—the launch of the veterans strategy and the publication of the tri-service sexual harassment survey results—will be completed this month. The report was a very useful catalyst in holding the Ministry of Defence to account on many initiatives through the Raising our Standards programme.
Charlotte Cane
Our servicewomen urgently need investment in female-specific tactical equipment, particularly bras and body armour. What steps is the Minister taking to provide funding for research, development and implementation of kit for the female anatomy and to ensure that fitting services and task-appropriate provision are standard across the forces?
Louise Sandher-Jones
The hon. Member makes a good point, and as someone who had to wear the body armour, I am fully on board. Progress is under way to address the very points she mentions.
Kim Johnson (Liverpool Riverside) (Lab)
Royal Artillery Gunner Jaysley Beck committed suicide after being sexually assaulted and failed by the military. Can the Minister explain what is being done to ensure that women serving in our armed forces are protected from abuse and that complaints are handled with independence, compassion and the seriousness that they deserve?
Louise Sandher-Jones
My hon. Friend raises an important case, and I am sure that everybody who read the report into Jaysley-Louise Beck’s death would agree that it was a hugely tragic and deeply saddening case. There is a duty on me—one which I feel very deeply—to make sure that we do everything we can to address the behaviours my hon. Friend mentioned. The Raising our Standards programme is addressing cultural behaviours to strengthen leadership and ensure that when complaints like this are made they are dealt with appropriately. We are also establishing an Armed Forces Commissioner to make sure that where any investigation into these types of behaviours is taken out, we can have full trust in the service to do right by any service personnel, whether they are at the lowest ranks or the highest.
Phil Brickell (Bolton West) (Lab)
The Secretary of State for Defence (John Healey)
Last week, I was in Turkey with the Prime Minister to sign Britain’s biggest fighter jet export deal in a generation. The £8 billion contract for 20 Typhoons is a win for European security, the British economy and 20,000 UK workers. It comes just weeks after we won the biggest ever warship deal—a £10 billion contract with Norway that will secure 4,000 jobs over the next decade. These deals demonstrate defence as an engine for growth. Today we go further and publish our defence housing strategy, in which we plan to upgrade 40,000 forces family homes and build 100,000 new homes for military and civilians alike. This plan is backed by a £9 billion investment over this decade—more than double what was in the Tory plans. This is a Government delivering for defence and for Britain.
Phil Brickell
May I congratulate the Secretary of State on the Turkey deal last week? A year on from his signing of the Trinity House agreement with his German counterpart, can he outline what progress has been made on implementing that deal, in particular to boost industrial collaboration and drive greater investment into integrated air and missile defence?
John Healey
Indeed, we are a year on from the Trinity House agreement, and our co-operation over the next year will only deepen further. Within weeks, we will have German P-8s flying out of Lossiemouth. We have a new cyber programme to conduct joint activities. We have accelerated work on a new 2,000 km deep precision strike missile, and a new £200 million bridging deal to support the British Army. I have to say that this agreement is more important now than when we signed it a year ago.
James Cartlidge (South Suffolk) (Con)
In the Secretary of State’s strategic defence review statement to Parliament on 2 June, he said that the defence investment plan would be
“completed and published in the autumn.”—[Official Report, 2 June 2025; Vol. 768, c. 72.]
Will he keep that promise?
John Healey
The SDR quite rightly said that further decisions on investment plans were central to delivering the SDR. We are doing that work thoroughly at the moment so that we will no longer have what the hon. Member’s Government left: a defence programme that was overcommitted, underfunded and unsuited to meet the threats that face us.
James Cartlidge
The Secretary of State did not answer the question. I am afraid the worry is that it is yet another delayed defence Command Paper. That prompts the obvious question: what exactly are the Government delivering for defence except delayed defence Command Papers? Is not this the truth: they are putting the British Army back in the dock, they are surrendering Diego Garcia for £35 billion, and all the while—they have not denied this today—they are cutting £2.6 billion from the frontline this year? Don’t the men and women of our armed forces deserve better?
John Healey
The hon. Member’s figures are wrong, and his characterisation and description are wrong. We have put £5 billion extra into the defence budget in this, our first year, and we are raising defence investment with the highest increase since the cold war. But the public expect us to manage better the budgets that we have got, so we are managing those budgets, which he failed to do. Alongside the strategic defence review and the defence investment plan, we are already acting and have let over 1,000 major contracts, 84% of them to British firms. Today, we are putting £9 billion into defence housing for the future.
Cat Eccles (Stourbridge) (Lab)
The Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry (Luke Pollard)
We want to direct more of our increasing defence budget at British companies, including small and medium-sized enterprises. I would be happy to meet my hon. Friend to see how we can encourage her business to win more defence contracts and to feed back on how we can be better in allowing SMEs to access the defence funding that we provide.
Calum Miller (Bicester and Woodstock) (LD)
We have already heard about the sentencing last week of Warrant Officer Michael Webber for the sexual assault of Gunner Jaysley Beck, and I am sure that all who heard them were deeply moved by the dignified words of Jaysley’s parents as they described how that abuse and the failure to address it contributed to her death five months later. Will the Minister for Veterans and People, whose personal commitment to these issues is not in question, update the House on the implementation in full of the Atherton report’s recommendations, and specifically on creating a fully independent complaints procedure and providing access to civilian courts for sexual abuse offences?
The Minister for Veterans and People (Louise Sandher-Jones)
As the hon. Member will be aware, the Ministry of Defence accepted 33 of the Committee’s recommendations, partially accepted a further four recommendations and noted 13 points that were conclusions rather than recommendations. There are three recommendations that we are not implementing, but it must be stressed that we are instead taking action to address the underlying concerns of those recommendations in other ways. The remaining 33 recommendations have been addressed through both Defence and single service activity delivered over the past two years.
Mr Alex Barros-Curtis (Cardiff West) (Lab)
Louise Sandher-Jones
It was without doubt a huge honour and privilege last week to attend the unveiling of the Etherton memorial, commemorating the life and legacy of the late Lord Etherton. We have now paid £20 million in total to veterans under the LGBT financial recognition scheme, and I can assure my hon. Friend that, to me, the monument stands not only as a memorial to what has gone before but as a firm anchor for where we must go in the future.
Gideon Amos (Taunton and Wellington) (LD)
The Minister for the Armed Forces (Al Carns)
The scale of the problem is truly gigantic. We have re-bought 36,000 homes. Nine out of every 10 homes will be refurbished and 14,000 homes might be completely rebuilt. We have already started on the first 1,000 that need modernising, and once that is done we will move on to the next.
Lorraine Beavers (Blackpool North and Fleetwood) (Lab)
Louise Sandher-Jones
We have significant processes in place before exit to ensure a smooth transition, particularly to manage personnel who are wounded, injured or sick, and the Valour initiative should help us take steps to better co-ordinate support for veterans. I can assure my hon. Friend that improving how service personnel leave the services is a key priority for me.
Lee Anderson (Ashfield) (Reform)
John Healey
No one word can sum up a country as significant and as complex as China, but our experience tells us that China is certainly an economic threat, as well as an opportunity in many areas.
Emma Foody (Cramlington and Killingworth) (Lab/Co-op)
Research shows that women in the Army are up to seven times more likely than men to suffer musculoskeletal injuries, and 10 times more likely to experience hip and pelvic fractures. Given these stark disparities, can the Minister tell the House what steps she is taking to ensure that women veterans receive appropriate gender-specific healthcare and rehabilitation support as they transition into civilian life?
Louise Sandher-Jones
My hon. Friend is absolutely right to highlight the particular struggles faced by female service leavers, and I would like to assure her that, through Operation Restore, there are specific pathways for veterans, including those who need musculoskeletal support.
Dr Ben Spencer (Runnymede and Weybridge) (Con)
John Healey
The hon. Gentleman is not correct in saying that the troops are there to monitor the ceasefire. A small handful of British forces personnel have been deployed to the Civil-Military Co-ordination Centre at the request of the US, and it is the US that is leading that work.
Joani Reid (East Kilbride and Strathaven) (Lab)
Recent reports show that Babcock is having to recruit hundreds of overseas welders because of a skills shortage in Scotland. This is the direct result of decades of under-investment in further education and skills in Scotland. Can the Minister outline what the UK Government can do to ensure that my constituents can access the apprenticeships and skills that defence jobs depend on?
Luke Pollard
My hon. Friend is absolutely right. If only we had a Scottish Government who were investing in defence skills rather than one who dither on defence. The Scottish Government did not invest in the welding centre in Glasgow; it required a Labour Government in the UK to step in and invest. We are delivering for defence. The Scottish Government are dithering on defence, and they are letting jobs slip out of their hands as a result.
Helen Morgan (North Shropshire) (LD)
Louise Sandher-Jones
We will shortly start our single living accommodation review to address exactly those points—the sometimes shocking state of such accommodation and what we can do to support the people who live in it.
Henry Tufnell (Mid and South Pembrokeshire) (Lab)
My constituency has a proud military history, and the defence sector continues to thrive at sites like Castlemartin and Cawdor barracks. Does the Minister agree that the defence growth fund should be used to bring direct benefits to communities like mine, as well as to strengthen our national security?
Luke Pollard
There is a real opportunity in Pembrokeshire and across Wales as we implement the defence growth deal for Wales to create more good, well-paid and unionised jobs that provide great opportunities. My hon. Friend is a real champion for the opportunities in his constituency, and I am happy to meet him to work out how we can advance opportunities to create more decent jobs across Wales, particularly in Pembrokeshire.
John Lamont (Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk) (Con)
John Healey
The hon. Gentleman is right: the continuation of the Scottish nationalist Government in Scotland is a threat to our security and to future prosperity and jobs in that country.
Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Slough) (Lab)
Given the multitude of security threats that we face, especially in the grey zone of cyber-attacks, it is abundantly clear that we need to accelerate investment in defence, but the Government are just not able to move fast enough. Our German friends, renowned for their fiscal prudence, have relaxed their fiscal rules just for their Defence Department. In the run-up to the Budget, what discussions has my right hon. Friend the Defence Secretary had with the Chancellor on relaxing fiscal rules for the Ministry of Defence in order to meet the moment?
John Healey
We have the increase in the budget this year; we have the increase in the budget over the Parliament. Our job now is to ensure that we can deliver value for money for that increased investment, and use that increased investment to drive economic growth across the UK. It is thanks to that increased investment that we have been able to announce and launch our defence housing strategy today.
Vikki Slade (Mid Dorset and North Poole) (LD)
Louise Sandher-Jones
I thank the hon. Member for raising the case of her constituent. If she writes to me with the details, I will look into exactly why it has taken that long.
Emma Lewell (South Shields) (Lab)
North-east industry has always supported our nation’s defence, yet we now have the lowest MOD spend out of every single region, leaving our potential untapped. Will my hon. Friend meet me and the North East Regional Defence and Security Cluster to redress that?
Luke Pollard
Yes, I am very happy to do so. I am meeting north-east colleagues about how we can drive more jobs and opportunity. As we look at establishing not just growth zones but defence technical excellence colleges and the six new munitions and energetics factories, there is a strong case for the north-east to receive some of that defence investment.
Lincoln Jopp (Spelthorne) (Con)
Now that the Secretary of State has warmed up a bit by calling the SNP a threat to our national security, will he have another go and say whether China is a threat to our national security?
John Healey
I have nothing to add to what I said in response to the hon. Member for Ashfield (Lee Anderson), who asked the same question. What a waste of a question.
Amanda Martin (Portsmouth North) (Lab)
I very much welcome the Government’s Op Valour pilot programme and the Minister’s commitment to improving support for our veterans. However, I am disappointed that Portsmouth—home to the Royal Navy and one of the largest veteran communities—is not part of the programme. Can the Minister reassure me that councils like Portsmouth city council will be encouraged and supported to join Op Valour and look after the veterans who live in our city?
Louise Sandher-Jones
I share my hon. Friend’s disappointment. Valour is a £50 million programme that will bring together a network of regional hubs to ensure that there is a physical location where veterans can go to seek help. I urge every region of the UK to get involved.
Sarah Bool (South Northamptonshire) (Con)
EKA Ltd in my constituency is a supplier to Ministry of Defence service recovery vehicles that have to be deployed with our tanks, but an issue that it and other service personnel have highlighted is the absence of the provision of robust spare parts in the event of a breakdown or damage. The Government are spending millions on these assets but leaving them completely unprotected. Is the MOD reviewing the provision of spares as part of its procurement, and would the Minister meet me and EKA Ltd to discuss the matter further?
Luke Pollard
I am happy to meet the hon. Lady to discuss this further. The last Government, I am afraid, left not only our weapons stockpiles almost empty, but far too many of our parts stockpiles as well. We are looking at investing in that as part of our defence investment plan, but I am happy to meet her to discuss the matter further.
Brian Leishman (Alloa and Grangemouth) (Ind)
Two giants of the Labour and anti-nuclear arms movement would have been 100 this year: Tony Benn and Mick McGahey. I never had the pleasure of meeting either, but I think they would have recognised that an industrial strategy based on militarism is flawed. The defence sector is less than 1% of the UK workforce, so militarism is not a UK-wide industry and it serves war, not peace. What happened to choosing welfare over warfare, and to choosing jobs in sectors that will promote real economic growth and actual social benefit?
Mr Speaker
When I bring you in on a topical, it is meant to be short and punchy, not a “War and Peace” question!
John Healey
I have to say that my hon. Friend is wrong on this. Over 400,000 jobs are supported—directly and indirectly—by defence, and almost 70% of the defence investment we make in this country is outside London and the south-east, right across the UK.
Helen Maguire (Epsom and Ewell) (LD)
People’s experiences of medical discharge from the armed forces vary significantly, and too often it fails those who need the support most. What steps is the Minister taking to improve the discharge process, including improving consistency across units?
Louise Sandher-Jones
I thank the hon. Member for raising an important point. Making sure that service personnel who leave under the medical discharge are fully set up for success in their post-service life is fundamental and a huge priority for me.
Dave Robertson (Lichfield) (Lab)
Last week I had the honour and privilege of attending the dedication of the new LGBT+ armed forces community memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum in Alrewas in my constituency, alongside His Majesty the King, proud veterans and members of our armed forces. Will the Minister join me in commending the unveiling of this important memorial, and does she agree that it will serve as a lasting reminder of the injustice and discrimination suffered by LGBT+ service personnel and as a powerful symbol of our commitment to equality and respect for all those who serve?
Louise Sandher-Jones
It was clear to see how much that event meant to the LGBT+ veterans, many of whom had suffered terribly under the ban. Many said to me that they never thought this day would come. I hope that the event itself and the memorial will serve as a lasting reminder of our responsibilities going forward.
John Cooper (Dumfries and Galloway) (Con)
The F-35 Lightning II aircraft is a cutting-edge system, the helmets for which come from my constituency, but the Public Accounts Committee has the MOD in missile lock over the cost of introducing the new nuclear freefall bombs with the F-35A. Can the Minister give the House some reassurance that the decision to bring in tactical nuclear weapons is not going to cost us a bomb?